Storing figures?

[cram]

Wondering where everyone stores all their painted figures?! I'm sure some of you have very sizable collections of figures and painted buildings.

So far all mine are in foam trays stored in a couple of drawers under my bed. But I can see I'm going to need more room soon as my collection continues to grow.

I've thought of storing everything in the attic still in the foam trays but now stored in sealed plastic boxes, but I'm not sure how they will fair up there with the changes of temperature. I live in Wales where it can get pretty cold in the winter, sometimes if we're lucky it can get pretty hot in summertime too!

[traveller]

A closet full of a plethora of transparent plastic boxes of different make. Beware of cold storage, that might bring the dreaded lead rot 

[FramFramson]

My Mage Knight plastics are in a drawer set. For my metal minis for all other games, I got one of those huge old Warhammer figure suitcases second-hand for dirt cheap. Since my stuff is all skirmish, I'll be good for years (it's got room for hundreds of minis).

[Legion1963]

Indeed. Most of my hobby related paraphernalia are stored in sturdy plastic boxes with clip-on lids. However, strangely enough my precious ;-) collection of painted miniatures are in four old cardboard boxes that give little protection from anything but dust. ;-(

[fred]

My stuff is stored in a mix of box files and plastic really useful boxes. Most of these are in a big cupboard in the conservatory - so certainly get some temperature fluctuations. This seems to be fine for the paint - less good for the gluing onto bases - I seem to have to frequently restick figures to bases.

[snitcythedog]

The plastic drawer sets work a treat.  I upgraded lately and now almost all of may painted stuff is currently in my IKEA bookcases behind glass doors.  I have had trouble with padded cases in the past with varnish sticking to the foam over time so I just transport them in the cases and put them back later.
Snitchy sends.

[Tactalvanic]

The plastic drawer sets work a treat.  I upgraded lately and now almost all of may painted stuff is currently in my IKEA bookcases behind glass doors.  I have had trouble with padded cases in the past with varnish sticking to the foam over time so I just transport them in the cases and put them back later.
Snitchy sends.

+1 to the Ikea Billy book cases - with glass doors.

And plastic and cardboard boxes- the collection of storage types never gets smaller, and almost a hobby in itself!

[Argonor]

Since I started basing everything on steel washers, I use printer paper cardboard boxes cut down to same height as their lids.
I place magnetic sheets in the boxes, and the minis never topple over.

I have found a type of cardboard crates (of the kind you move all your belongings in, when moving to a new home) in which I can fit 3 printer paper boxes aside (filling the crate completel from end to end, allowing no sliding around when moving the crate), which goes a long way when stowing minis away.

[Elbows]

This depends a lot on how much you travel with your stuff.

My Old West and Gladiator minis each have a single white box w/ foam (great things, and I can't find them anymore).  Easy enough to store and transport.  My Eldar - relatively hopeless, too many walkers/vehicles.  Will end up moving them in bubble wrap or something.  My dungeon minis were all in a Battle Foam bag I just sold off (crap).  I'll be getting some KR multicase foam.

One trick is that I have some Pelican (Hardigg, etc.) cases spare.  I find foam which fits in these, so I have a damn-near-bulletproof case with foam inside.  Same cases I carry firearms and munition in...so, plenty robust.  The only army I have (Eldar) are not very portable at all.  I'd have to work some magic to actually travel anywhere with them.  I'm trying to avoid the pluck-foam option, but I'll probably end up that direction.

My terrain takes up 10x the space of my figures, so storing the collection isn't a problem.  A few cases/boxes.

[nic-e]

Wooden printers trays for most single figures or character models.
Troops and larger units go into the gaming case/bookshelf respectively.

[vodkafan]

A closet full of a plethora of transparent plastic boxes of different make. Beware of cold storage, that might bring the dreaded lead rot 

Does lead rot still happen? I thought modern minis have no lead content

[nic-e]

Does lead rot still happen? I thought modern minis have no lead content


Contemporary miniatures shouldn't get lead rot as pewter CAN be cast lead free, however it is often a common practice to add small amounts of lead to improve flow, help absorb slag and add some extra strength to the mini.
The chances of this causing substantial lead rot is pretty small but we will need to see how contemporary minis hold up in a few years time before we can know for sure which companies use which alloys.

[westwaller]

I thought that storing figures in wooden boxes made them particularly susceptible to lead rot- I have no idea why, I seem to remember reading it somewhere...?

[Argonor]

I thought that storing figures in wooden boxes made them particularly susceptible to lead rot- I have no idea why, I seem to remember reading it somewhere...?

I think I've read that chipboard and/or plywood emits some fumes (from the glue?) that can result in lead rot?

[traveller]

I think I've read that chipboard and/or plywood emits some fumes (from the glue?) that can result in lead rot?

The glue can contain formaldehyde, which is the case in plywood, that can give corrosion and other nasty things. For the lead rot I am more worried about temperature. I stored RAFM miniatures cold and the got the lead rot